Emerging Trajectories for Next Generation Tissue Engineers

Abstract

The field of tissue engineering has evolved from its early days of engineering tissue substitutes to current efforts at building human tissues for regenerative medicine and mechanistic studies of tissue disease, injury, and regeneration. Advances in bioengineering, material science, and stem cell biology have enabled major developments in the field. In this perspective, we reflect on the September 2021 virtual Next Generation Tissue Engineering symposium and trainee workshop, as well as our projections for the field over the next 15 years.

Keywords: bioengineering; biomaterials; regenerative medicine; tissue engineering.

Figure 1.. Symposium demographics,

including: (A) table of registrants and (B) word map of participating countries during the entirety of the meeting.

Figure 2.. State of the field of tissue engineering.

Innovations in biomaterials, regenerative engineering strategies, in vitro systems, and biotechnology have propelled the advancement of tissue engineering over the last 20 years. Emerging considerations for continued acceleration focus on building complexity into existing models and enabling translation to patients.